It was the final game for Chargers quarterback
Tobin Rote, who had led the
Detroit Lions to the NFL title seven years earlier in
1957 and the Chargers to the AFL crown in
1963. He was replaced in the game by
John Hadl, who had played most of the regular season. The 1964 AFL championship game was the penultimate
pro football championship game played in Buffalo (the Bills hosted again in
1966, but lost in their attempt for a
third consecutive AFL crown). Held six days after the completion of the
1964 regular season, it was the only AFL title game not played on Sunday, as well as the final one televised in black-and-white. The
NFL's championship game was played the following day on Sunday, December 27. This was the last AFL game on
ABC television; rights were sold in January 1964 to
NBC for $36 million over five years, beginning with the
1965 season. This infusion of cash helped spur a bidding war for talent with the NFL, which led to the
AFL–NFL merger agreement in June 1966. With the exception of the 1966
Continental Football League championship, ABC did not carry pro football again until after the completion of the merger and the subsequent creation of
Monday Night Football for the season. ==Players' shares==